Like many other things, people are curious about food that they aren’t familiar with. So, you continue to hear people ask about what the food from a certain continent tastes like, just so they can find familiar meals that they can enjoy. If you’re one of the food lovers or connoisseurs, discover a world of cuisines here.
European Cuisine
European dishes are big on starchy food, meats, and flour. You’ll also find that salad is a major part of every meal order or cuisine, just as noodles, bread, potatoes, noodles, lamb, and beef are commonplace in the European kitchen.
European cuisine isn`t complete without appetizers before meals and desserts after. The desserts need to be different from the appetizers and have more flavours.
Some new meals in European cuisines are corn and rice, but they aren’t major means, but minority meals.
While this is a generalized insight, it isn’t possible to explore European cuisine on a general level because there are different countries within Europe, and these countries have their unique meals.
When you go to Spain, German, Italy, and Poland, you will find different unique foods with their ingredients and specialities, just like pasta in Italy and sausages in Germany.
So, explore European foods by country to get the most authentic experience.
When you visit the coastal regions of Europe, you will find different kinds of fish from the seas of the inland and the main oceans. You will also find several products made from rye and wheat, as well as different varieties of bread from one European country to the next.
When it comes to dividing European cuisine based on geographical regions, you might find it difficult, because the divisions in Europe are not clear-cut. For instance, while Turkey is often considered a Middle-Eastern country, it also belongs, in part, to European territories. The same is Russia, which is part of Asia and part of Europe.
When you go to France, you also find an interesting culinary situation where the cuisine in the South is Mediterranean, and the cuisine in the north has a more rounded and deeper taste and variety.
Let’s take a delicious look at European cuisines by geographical regions.
Southern European Cuisines
When you visit Southern Europe, you’ll find that there are a wide variety of food products, just as there are many recipes and cooking methods.
Tomatoes are some of the most popular vegetables throughout the South, and you find that tomatoes are eaten either raw or cooked, as well as other vegetables found throughout Europe.
There is an abundance of cheese, meat, and fish in Southern Europe, so you find many meals with these as ingredients. You’ll also find a lot of aromatic herbs and spices used in cooking, just as Olive oil is the preferred cooking oil.
Northern European cuisines
In the north of Europe, the meals you find are more robust and also embrace fat more than in other regions. Smoked meat and fish are also very common, with fish being preserved in brine.
You also find a wide variety of stews and soups prepared with spices to fight cold. Vegetables aren’t in their numbers in the north, but you find a lot of potatoes here.
Bread and pastry are quite common, but they are drier than pastries in other regions.
Western European Cuisines
Countries in Western Europe are unique, and so are the cuisines in the West. For most countries, you find a combination of Nordic, Saxon, and Mediterranean cuisine.
Vegetables, dairy products, meat, and fish are plenteous in the west, and as such you find many meals that have them as staples.
Of all the kitchens in the West of Europe, you will find some of the most renowned and refined cuisines and cooking techniques amongst the French and the finest of pastries amongst the Austrians.
Eastern European Cuisines
The cuisines in Eastern Europe are largely influenced by cuisines in the West, and this is owing to a history of political marriages. In Eastern Europe, you find a robust and wide range of vegetables, food products, cheese, meat, and fish. There are also a lot of herbs and spices in the East.
One thing that’s most peculiar about Eastern Europe is the methods of cooking such as smoking, drying, marinating, as well as conservation inside spirits. Due to these methods, you find unique-tasting meals in the East.
Explore a world of cuisines
While we have taken a quick look at American Cuisines, European Cuisines, and Asian Cuisines, one thing you need to know is although continents have several ingredients in common, when you go down to countries within these continents, you’ll find interesting differences in meals, spices, and ingredients.
In Asia, for instance, Korean, Indian, and Chinese foods are different in preparation and taste. In Europe, French food, Italian Food, and Greek food are different from British food.
Remember that the culture and history of every country affect its cuisines, so feel free to explore these cultures and history through their meals.